Man is arrested after leaving jail

A 35-year-old Mpumalanga man was arrested for attempted murder on the same day he was released from prison for possessing an unlicensed firearm.

Tommy Rantho, of Witbank, who was paroled after serving part of a three-year prison term, was arrested last week for a crime he allegedly committed almost three years ago.

Rantho then appeared in the Witbank magistrates' court charged with shooting Brian Paneng, 26, of the Vosman informal settlement in Witbank during a quarrel in September 2004 over which song was to be played on a juke box in the now defunct Newtown Tavern in Vosman.

According to the Vosman police, Paneng, who is paralysed as a result of a gunshot wound, did not lay charges against Rantho after he was discharged from hospital because he had been informed that Rantho was dead.

The wheelchair-bound Paneng only reported the matter to the police on May 14 this year after an acquaintance told him that he had seen Rantho.

The investigating officer in the case, Inspector Dan Mkhonto, yesterday confirmed that Rantho was arrested on Tuesday last week.

He appealed to a witness known only as Fannie, from the Varena area in Mpumalanga, to contact him during office hours on 013-698-7132 extension 234.